The many spirit mediums of Palmelo, Brazil, are featured in Captain Gervasio’s Family (2013-2014) by Tamar Guimarães (Brazilian, b. 1967) and Kasper Akhøj (Danish, b. 1976). The 14-minute black-and-white film is a meditative look at the mediums who communicate with the dead and engage in psychic healing practices. By juxtaposing details of the modernist buildings for which Brazil is known and the mediums engaged in such activities as holding hands to form a healing “magnetic chain,” the filmmakers suggest parallels between modernist architecture’s ideals and social organization and that of the Spiritist community.

Captain Gervasio’s Family is presented in partnership with The Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Advanced Media Studies (CAMS). Guimarães and Akhøj will be in residence at JHU this spring. Throughout their work, the Copenhagen-based collaborators explore the structure of social space and hierarchies, within both small communities and geographically or racially defined groups of people.

Add Your Event

Upcoming Events

This six-part guest-hosted screening series hopes to merge audiences and art forms while bringing influential films to the screen. Each film/play pairing is intended to inspore conversation and draw connections between the material presented both[...]

Save up your appetites for the Pikesville Chamber of Commerce’s signature event. Highlighting Pikesville, this casual night of food, festivity and fun will feature signature dishes from 45+ restaurants and caterers, along with complimentary beer,[...]

In all of the Cinderella coverage of UMBC’s basketball triumph, there was a sense of perspective from those who work and study there: ballgames are nice, and we exult in the victory, they seemed to ...